Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Lila has a new hobby that she is very excited about! She has started horseback riding lessons and is enjoying every minute of it! She has been paired up with Daisy, a very gentle old pony and they are a perfect match. Lila talks about Daisy all the time and picks out a shiny red apple for her new friend each time we are at the grocery store... and Daisy loves apples!It was no surprise to me that she took to Daisy so well, but after her very first lesson we were all impressed with her riding skills. By the end of the lesson she already knew how to get Daisy to respond by pulling on the reins and loved telling her, "Whoa," to get her to stop. Such a talented little rider we have!Ms. Shelley, her instructor, is so very nice and does a great job involving Lila in the grooming and care of Daisy before they ride. Lila helps with the tack and likes to watch as all the buckles and straps are tightened before her ride. She is very sweet with Daisy and constantly tells her, "Good Girl, Daisy" throughout the lesson. It is the cutest thing to watch! She loves Daisy!

Lila worked hard this summer to earn a new bike! She is now officially "potty trained" and the proud owner of a new pretty pink bike! She was so excited to go to the store with Daddy and pick out the one she wanted. I wasn't surprised a bit when Daddy unloaded a Disney Princess bike from the car when they got home. Good job Lila! You're such a big girl now!

Lila spent two weeks in swimming lessons this summer. I wasn't sure how much she would learn at this age but she has turned into quite a little fish!Needless to say we've spent A LOT of time at the neighborhood pool this summer. The girls both do great in the water and have so much fun they never want to leave! They could spend the whole day swimming and splashing in the water!One for the money, Two for the show, Three to get ready, and Four to GO.. Yea Lila!!

Daddy's new favorite steak place is a hole in the wall old barn right outside of town. The food is great and the atmosphere is that of down home fun! He requested we have his birthday dinner there on Saturday night when they have a live band and the locals come to show off their country western moves. We couldn't keep Miss Lila off the dance floor. She was quite the Dancing Queen making up her own moves and dancing, dancing, dancing!She danced with her cousins. She danced with her sister. She danced by herself.She even danced with a stranger. ("Stranger" being a sweet older lady that kept coming over to our table asking Lila to go for a spin or two around the dance floor. She was very sweet and quite harmless.)

Emily got out there a little bit too but she is still a little too shy to just cut a rug like her older sister. She preferred to 'dance' with her Daddy!Did I mention the food is good? It's GOOD!I love this next picture. Can you tell Emily was a little tired of the picture taking?We secretly told our waitress it was Wayne's birthday so of course they came over, made him stand up and sang their own rendition of the birthday song for him. He was surprised.....and maybe a little embarrassed, but a good sport!And his dessert was fabulous! Cobbler and ice cream.. YUM!

The Pahmans came in town to help Daddy celebrate his birthday this year. We all had fun with Uncle David, Aunt Sarah, Hannah and Leah. The girls all played very well together and we enjoyed a long weekend with family. Daddy had two extra helpers to help blow ALL those candles out on his birthday cake!Happy Birthday Daddy!

Vacation Bible School was a hit this summer! We had just moved into our new Children's Education Building and we got to break it in with record attendance! Lila got to participate for the first time this year and she had so much fun playing with her friends, making crafts, and learning some new songs! Emily was in the nursery so she didn't technically get to participate like the older kids, but she had a great time playing on the inside playground and spending time with her buddies as well! Both of the girls were eager and excited each morning to put on their "church shirts" and go to VBS. The VBS grand finale was a carnival and dinner with a performance by an All-Star cast! It was a crazy night with a bad storm. The performance was interupted twice because of tornado warnings and we all had to file out of the auditorium and take shelter in the classrooms without windows. We all had to sit on the floor in the children's classrooms as we waited for the storm to pass, but we still had a good time hanging out and visiting with our friends. Even a big bad storm couldn't squash our fun! When we finally got to the performance, Lila did a great job and made us all proud! Emily was especially excited to see her up on the stage singing!